Help me verify my logic here: G16 UW housing choice

[H2ODoc]

I was using an older Canon P&S (A620) with the Canon housing and was happy with my results given the cost of the setup.

I now have a G16 and plan to get a housing. With the following criteria, I'm planning on the Fantasea FG16:

- Price of the housing is in our range
- I'm not a pro, and still learning
- The cost of a strobe and WA lens ($500+$300++) is a lot of investment for 1 dive trip/year, so I won't be doing that now
- I'm trying to balance my underwater time to enjoying the dive plus taking some decent pics - a simple/compact setup ranks high
- I would, however, might add a strobe/WA lens later - that ability to upgrade important

So, my only concern is the use of the on-board G16 flash with the FG16 housing. With my A620 and Canon housing, I got decent-enough results. Do you think the same will be true for the FG16 housing?

 

[DavidFL]

I have a Canon G-15 in an Ikelite housing...I started out with just the camera and the housing, and added one, then another strobe. I'm not a pro either. I chose the Ikelite housing because it supported a wired eTTL connection to Ikelite strobes. I had used a compact previously (Olympus compact P&S; Olympus housing) with no external strobe and found the internal strobe to be so limited in underwater use inside a housing that I stopped using it.

With the raw capability in the G-16 you will be able to do a lot with available light, and maybe with the internal strobe. In my particular case, I ended up spending the money on the strobes and have no regrets; probably tripled the number of "usable" stills on most of my dive trips

 

[H2ODoc]

Thanks DavidFL. Tripling the number of usable pics is a great stat. I started out getting maybe 1 good pic out of 200. I might now be up to 5 out of 100, but enjoy the challenge.

 

[JahJahwarrior]

Is the cost difference between that housing and an Ikelite housing enough for you to pick up a used strobe such as as Ikelite DS50 or 51?

As long as the housing supports a strobe in the future, then it's a good buy, but the sooner you get a strobe, the sooner you'll increase your keep rate!

 

[Ran Mozaik]

One of the great things about the Fantasea G16 bundle is that it's usable right out of the box and produces excellent results even with no add-ons.
It utilizes the on-camera flash very efficiently with a large diffuser which attaches to the front of the housing. The macro capabilities are excellent even without a macro lens which is one of the big pluses of the G16 as opposed to some of its competition (RX100).
Of course you need to know your limitations. An on-camera flash will never be good for shots further than 1-1.5 feet, and would create backscatter. For that you need an external strobe. The YS-03 is probably the best value strobe in the market at the moment.
Check out this video which shows the housing's features: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kMUCGt0ydQ
This video will show you the available accessories: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iUTr2of7WM
And a review here to help you decide: Canon G16 Underwater w/Fantasea Housing Review

 

[BluewaterPhoto]

H2oDoc - I've used the Fantasea G16 housing, I like it, but for macro shots I found it difficult to use the internal flash because of the long port on the housing.

I would try to get a strobe, I would go for the YS-02 or YS-01 over the YS-03 so you could shoot the camera in manual mode, which you can't do with the YS-03. Good luck! Here is our Fantasea G16 page

Scott Gietler

I was using an older Canon P&S (A620) with the Canon housing and was happy with my results given the cost of the setup.

I now have a G16 and plan to get a housing. With the following criteria, I'm planning on the Fantasea FG16:

- Price of the housing is in our range
- I'm not a pro, and still learning
- The cost of a strobe and WA lens ($500+$300++) is a lot of investment for 1 dive trip/year, so I won't be doing that now
- I'm trying to balance my underwater time to enjoying the dive plus taking some decent pics - a simple/compact setup ranks high
- I would, however, might add a strobe/WA lens later - that ability to upgrade important

So, my only concern is the use of the on-board G16 flash with the FG16 housing. With my A620 and Canon housing, I got decent-enough results. Do you think the same will be true for the FG16 housing?

 

[KeithG]

So, my only concern is the use of the on-board G16 flash with the FG16 housing. With my A620 and Canon housing, I got decent-enough results. Do you think the same will be true for the FG16 housing?

You should be able to get the same type of decent shots.

As indicated in previous responses, onboard flash has some limitations:
- too close
- too far away

If you are too close, then the port will physically obstruct the flash (even with the diffuser) and you will find the bottom right of your pictures are under exposed as they are shaded by the port. "too close" varies by camera housing. You can make a good approximation by comparing the lens extension length on your old and new cameras. The further out the lens protrudes, the longer the housing port has to be. Longer housing port means a larger "shadow" area. Does the G16 lens stick out further than you old camera? If so then "too close" will be larger for the G16.

Too far away is mostly a function of the onboard flash power, but can also be influenced by the camera lens light capture ability. Does the G16 onboard flash put out more light? No idea! Is the G16 more sensitive than your old camera? Maybe?